STUDIES are showing growing concerns that letting a toddler or baby use a smartphone could lead to expressive language delay.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, for each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time, there was a 49% increased risk of speech delays in infants.
Nearly 900 children from Toronto were studied, aged between six months to two years.
Of the children in the study, 20% used a handheld device for 28 mins on average per day.
The study didn't find a direct cause-and-effect link between device and speech delays, with further research to be undertaken before firm conclusions could be drawn, the researchers said.
New legislation in France is targeting eating discorders and "unrealistic body images" by banning unhealthily thin models.
Under the rules, models will be required to provide a doctor's certificate confirming their overall health and that they aren't "underweight" as defined by the World Health Organization.
The new law will also require photos where a model's shape has been digitally altered to be marked as such from 01 Oct.
Employers who flout the regulations and use excessively thin models are subject to a prison term of up to six months and a 75,000 fine if convicted.
"Exposing young people to normative and unrealistic images of bodies leads to a sense of self-depreciation and poor self-esteem that can impact health-related behaviour," said French minister for social affairs and health, Marisol Touraine.
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